Britain will recognise the state of Palestine in September at the UN General Assembly, unless the Israeli government takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza”, the UK government has announced.
In a major change in British foreign policy, Downing Street hopes the move will put significant pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. In a statement late on Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out conditions for Israel to meet: a ceasefire with Hamas; ensuring that there was no West Bank annexation and a commitment to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.
In a short press conference after the announcement, Mr Starmer stated that the “primary aim here is to change the situation on the ground for people who desperately need change”. His government had come under significant pressure to move on recognition, with not only his MPs but senior cabinet members urging the move to influence Israel over its actions in Gaza, where starvation is taking hold.
Critical to building that pressure will be the support of the US President Donald Trump, who Mr Starmer said had agreed to “work together to address the appalling situation on the ground” following their lengthy meeting in Scotland on Monday.
During an emergency cabinet meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Starmer told his ministers that the Gaza situation was “getting more desperate by the day” and that recent images of starvation “had deeply affected the British public and underscored the increasingly intolerable situation”.
He said the decision was a result of the grim circumstances in Gaza, and that this was “the right time to move this position forward”. After France declared it would recognise Palestine last Thursday, Britain will become the 149th country to do so if it follows through on the promise in September.
Israel rapidly hit back at the ultimatum, saying it rejected Mr Starmer’s statement and that the UK’s position was a “reward” for Hamas.
“The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Popular support
The move chimes with the mood in Britain for the government to immediately declare recognition to put pressure on Israel to end the starvation in Gaza. A new poll has shown that Britons are in favour of recognising a Palestinian state by almost three to one, with 49 per cent in the Survation survey for, and just 13 per cent opposed.
While recognition might “infuriate Israel”, said Bronwen Maddox, director of the influential Chatham House think tank, it would be an “an unequivocal statement to Washington, Israelis, Palestinians and the Middle East” that Britain sees a Palestinian state as the only way to a secure future.
“The alternative to the creation of a Palestinian state is conflict without end, one that jeopardises Israel’s security,” she said. Recognition would also strengthen the arguments of Arab states “that steps towards the creation of a Palestinian state are inseparable to peace efforts in Gaza” and would “lend weight” to Saudi Arabia’s discussions with Washington.
It would further communicate to Israel that its behaviour in Gaza was “abhorrent even to old and close allies”, and make it clear too to Israeli voters that even its friends believe the country’s “actions risk making it a pariah state”.
September looms
The view that immediate recognition by Britain would influence Israel to curb its Gaza operations rather than waiting for the UN General Assembly in September, was expressed by Teresa Thornhill, a lawyer and campaigner for the Grieving for Gaza protest group.
“An awful lot of people will be dead by September,” she told The National during a silent protest at the gates of Downing Street. “It would send a very strong message to [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his cronies, which is desperately needed.”
While Israel would be “outraged”, she argued that “the stronger the message the better”. She said the action should also include a 100 per cent arms embargo, “because people are dying”.
Ms Thornhill was among several observers who were lifted by US President Donald Trump’s apparent change of position on Gaza after being “shocked by some pictures he’s seen of starving children”.
Her views were widely repeated by hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who joined the protest by beating wooden spoons against empty metal pans as a symbol of Gaza’s starvation, said one of the organisers.
French urging
With France’s President Emanuel Macron stating last Thursday that his country would recognise Palestinian statehood in September, his Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had earlier implicitly urged Britain to stop delaying its declaration.
During a speech at the UN, he made a veiled dig at Britain when he suggested that countries which have not done so should stop waiting for preconditions and insisting on “roadmaps to recognition”.
But Ms Maddox highlighted that one hazard in recognition was that it might “distract attention from the immediate task of persuading Israel to end its assault in Gaza”. Others have criticised the proposal for being “symbolic” and rewarding Hamas for the October 7 attacks.
